i've got the world on a string...

My friend Kristin taught me how to pick out the most delicious pineapple. She actually met up with me at WinCo to show me exactly how it is done. I have the knowledge.

And now I can do it all by myself!

Behold the glory that is...PINEAPPLE!

This is the 2nd one I've purchased all by myself, and guess what? I'm 2 for 2 in picking absolutely stellar, juicy, wonderful pineapple! I check every time I go to the grocery store...just in case. (The silly craving really hasn't ceased...but lately the pineapples in the produce have been duds--meaning teeny/greeny. Meh...)

On Saturday, I was determined to find a good one. Oh yes. So I went through several...and finally I found one that I thought would suffice.

I was so right.

*contented sigh*

I'm still looking forward to summertime when the produce department is nuttin' but splendiforous...

Ode to pineapple...

Apple of Pine...

by Gina O.
Pineapple, fresh pineapple; I crave you night and day.
A dinner party feels complete when you're there on a tray.
Initially I never thought that one day I'd LOVE you;
When you are canned, it makes me ill; of what I speak is true.
But when consumed completely fresh, your flavor makes me glad.
I salivate when you are grilled--(the best way to be had!)
Your exterior, rough and thick, is such a travesty!
Cutting you open is a pain...but nothing good comes free.
And so I do what must be done in order to consume
Your luscious golden fruit inside; so tasty when in bloom!
I think about you constantly; this hankering seems eternal...
I wish you grew in my back yard to feed this hunger diurnal!

It's become an obsession with me--pineapple, I mean. I never thought I'd like it fresh because the canned stuff is so darn nasty. And pineapple juice is gross in its own potent way. This is my opinion. -Alas, I got brave and tried the fresh stuff, and now I am completely smitten. It might just be my favorite fruit.

Sadly, I don't get to eat it that often. (Maybe this is why I'm so fixated on it?) Sure you can buy it at the grocery store...but I'm not great at picking them out. And the "produce guys" aren't always as knowledgeable as I think they ought to be. Lisa's oma and grandpa do a splendid job with it. And I think Callie does too. Perhaps I need to go to the grocer with Cal and watch her pick one out. ("Watch and learn," see?)

Anyway...over Christmas break, my folks were given a pineapple (straight from Hawaii!) from the Rackhams. (A quick shout-out to Lisa Thatcher! I don't know if you didn't want your folks to give away one of your most precious pineapples, but they did, and it did NOT go unappreciated! Thank you, thank you, thank you!) -I had never cut open a pineapple before...I'd always just been the happy benefactor of someone else's hard work. Here's the story in pictures:

The fresh pineapple in all its glory...

First I cut off the little head thingie...

Then I worked my way through the hard outer shell...
(this took a while).

Then I cut the core out.
(I really never thought about a pineapple core before...)

Then I cut it into bite-size pieces.

And then...I consumed!
YUMMO!

Oh...and if you haven't read my last post, would you mind looking at it and then giving me your feedback? I'm really trying to be brave!